Screen Yorkshire unveils £2m production slate

18 January, 2013 | By David Humphreys

Screen Yorkshire has added five major international film and TV investments to its production slate, including new titles from Ecosse Films, World Productions, Warp Films and Emu Film, with £2m investment from the Yorkshire Content Fund.

The slate is expected to lead to over £20m of production spend and the creation of a number of jobs in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Ecosse Films’ production is a VE-day feature titled Girls’ Night Out, directed by Michael Hoffman and produced by Robert Bernstein and Douglas Rae. Slated cast on the picture include Juno Temple and Alexandra Roach. Lionsgate UK will distribute domestically and HanWay Films will sell internationally. The film centres on Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret as they join the crowds to celebrate VE day.

‘71is to be co-produced by Sheffield-based Warp Films and Crab Apple Films with backing from Film4, BFI Creative Scotland and Aver Media LP. It will be directed by Yann Demange and produced by Angus Lamont and Robin Gutch.

Set in Northern Ireland, ‘71 is an action thriller about a young soldier who has to survive the night on the dangerous streets of Belfast in the chaotic early years of the Troubles. Protagonist Pictures is selling the film internationally and StudioCanal is distributing in the UK. Penned by playwright Gregory Burke, casting is currently taking place. Development funding for the project was provided by Northern Ireland Screen.

The Great Train Robbery comprises two feature-length dramas for BBC1 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the heist in August 2013. It will be produced by World Productions and directed by Julian Jarrold and James Strong. Chris Chibnall is on board as writer and Julia Stannard is producing with Simon Heath as executive producer.

‘The Robbers’ Tale’ tells the story of the gang whose audacious crime secured huge wealth and the wrath of the establishment. ‘The Coppers’ Tale’ recounts the story of Tommy Butler and the crack team of detectives he assembled in his relentless quest to bring the robbers to justice. Content Media is selling the series internationally.

A Miracleis produced by Har Films as a UK-French-German-Turkish co-production with Starfield Productions, Rhamsa Productions and Flying Moon. It is written and directed by Ben Hopkins with Paul Raphael and Maya Hariri producing. The film is a comedy road-movie following the adventure of an unlikely pair that come together to collect a coffin containing a Georgian millionaire’s dead aunt, leading them through unexpected adventures. Wild Bunch will sell the film internationally.

Catch Me Daddy is produced by Emu Films with Daniel Wolfe directing his own screenplay, Mike Elliot produces. The feature is backed by the BFI and Film4, with Altitude selling the film internationally and Studio Canal distributing in the UK. Laila, a young Asian girl on the run from her family, is hiding out in the bad lands of West Yorkshire with her drifter boyfriend Aaron.

Sally Joynson, chief executive of Screen Yorkshire, said: “These investments are the culmination of a fantastic first year for the Yorkshire Content Fund, which is attracting the very best in UK producers and talent to the region. ‘71 is one of the most anticipated features yet from Sheffield’s prolific Warp Films, Ecosse’s Girls’ Night Out will have significant international appeal and World Productions continue to be one of the UK’s leading drama producers.”

The Yorkshire Content Fund recently invested in six-part BBC2 epic gangster drama Peaky Blinders [pictured], which filmed in autumn 2012 and will invest £7.5m of European Regional Development Funding into TV, film, games and digital projects.

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